Red Chili Hunan Restaurant — Restaurant in Rowland Heights

While my family and I have only eaten here twice, this restaurant is on our favorite list despite the fact that it is 40 miles from our home.

As a general rule, I don't rate restaurants or eateries five stars unless the establishment is a Michelin two or three stars. As such, giving four stars to an establishment is high praise and indicates it is worth a repeat visit.

My family like spicy food so we tend to frequent Sichuan restaurants whereas this restaurant features Hunan dishes. Even though 'Red Chili' is in its name, half of the dishes on this restaurant 's menu are not spicy which is a positive when some in the eating party want alternatives. What makes this restaurant stand out, however, is the spicy dishes are not overpowered by spiciness even when the hotness dial is at medium or above. Instead, one can taste the distinct flavors, spiciness notwithstanding, of various ingredients in individual dishes. This is no small feat given the power of chili peppers.

The one dish liked by my entire family is ' House Special Spicy Fish Fillets (招牌口味鱼片)'. Tender fish fillets accompanied by delicious sauce are equally enjoyable with or without rice. In addition to being tasteful, the amount of fish fillets in the dish is sufficient for a table of four or five if consumed moderately. The spiciness in ' Couple Lungs (夫妻肺片)' is just right yet compliments the beef and tripe nicely. The flavor of lamb is unmistakable in 'House Special Sautéed Lamb (小炒羊)' although bigger meat slices would make the dish better. The green peppers in ' Hunan Style Sautéed Pork (湖南小炒肉)' bring another dimension of spice and infuse the pork with tanginess. The batter surrounding the chicken meat in ' Red Chili Flavored Fried Spicy Chicken (红辣椒辣子鸡丁) is light and crispy. The chicken meat, however, came out somewhat overcooked. That said, the size of the dish is generous.

The first time we visited the restaurant was in March 2019. The restaurant was understaffed at that time. I was glad that when we visited in June, there were sufficient number of staff working around the place. It is a sign that the owner, chef, and staff have built up a clientele that includes...

You don’t come to a place like this for the ambiance. You come here because the kitchen knows how to cook.

If you enjoy spicy hot, the food is delicious. I’d recommend the duck in particular.

We’ve visited twice now. Each time we’ve taken many of the dishes home with us. The portions are generous, and mostly tastes even better the days after. I don’t give much credence to theories of flavor melding. It’s more that there’s more time and stomach space to savor each.

Now: location, location, location...

The restaurant is in a kind of run down strip mall, next to the definitely run down Korean Green-something market. There’s no reason to be at this shopping center, other than to specifically eat here. This affects their business. At 7:00pm on a Saturday night, the restaurant was half empty. I hope they don’t spiral down the quality drain like so many others in similar circumstance.

Hedge your bet. Eat here while...

The food was not too bad, just way too salty. It was plenty chili hot. I like hot food anyway. The service was mediocre. I should also say the kitchen staff talk a bit long to get the food out. Have worked in major restaurants in the kitchen. I feel they need better kitchen management. Oh well, the food was ok. The sautéed pig ears were also very salty with a lots of garlic. I like garlic but for some, it could be much. The sauce has flavor but could cut down on the soy sauce. We had the fish in a pot. The fish was fresh and quite spicy with lots of vegetables, lotus roots. Again, way too salty. The fish was fried and put into a pot with a broth and vegetables. The fish was fried just right and the meat was tender and a little crispy on the outside. The fish was not salty but I believed it was the broth. I may try it again in the future but will have tell them to go easy on the salt...